When transporting a boat on a trailer, a motor of the boat is supported in a fixed position to limit the amount of vibrational stress a bouncing motor can put on the transom of the boat. Some boats may include built-in mechanisms to support the motors while others do not. However, even the built-in support mechanisms on some boats still are prone to disengaging when rough road surfaces are encountered.
In some instances, a separate motor support mechanism may be used to support the motor in a fixed, elevated fashion, as a standalone motor support. However, just like some built-in motor support mechanisms, some separate motor support mechanisms are prone to being jarred loose, leading to possible damage to the motor, boat trailer, or motor support mechanism itself. Further, attaching a separate support mechanism can be a cumbersome process, causing some users to forego use of a separate support mechanism entirely.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art motor support 1000 for supporting an engine/a motor 1004 of a boat 1006 with respect to a boat trailer (not shown). The motor support 1000 generally includes two arms 1002 (only one arm is shown in FIG. 1) that are in contact with both sides S1 and S2 of the motor 1004 for supporting the motor 1004 with respect to the boat trailer. The motor 1004, when being supported by the motor support 1004, applies side load SL on the arms 1002. For example, a side load force going outward in the direction of the arrow SL1 is applied on the right side arm 1002 of the motor support 1000 and a side load force going outward in the direction of the arrow SL2 is applied on the left side arm 1002 of the motor support 1000.
Also, when the motor 1004 is being supported by the motor support 1004, a gap G exists between the front F of the motor 1004 and a portion P of the motor support 1000. That is, when the motor 1004 is being supported by the motor support 1004, the load applied by the motor 1004 on the motor support 1000 is only applied on the arms 1002 and is not evenly distributed throughout the entire periphery of the motor support 1000. The side load applied by the motor 1004 on the motor support 1000 may result in breakage of the motor support 1000. For example, a break in the motor support 1000 due to the side load SL may form, for example, along the line B.
Therefore, improvements in the design of a motor support mechanism are needed